Allaah's Command Ordering Obedience to His Apostle

Imaam ash-Shafi'ee rahimahullaah

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[Shafi'ee said]: Allaah, glorious be His praise, said:

Verily, those who swear allegiance to thee swear allegiance really to Allaah; the
hand of Allaah is above their hands. So whoever breaks his oath, breaks it only
to his own hurt, and to him who fulfills what he has pledged to Allaah, He will
grant a great reward [Q. XLVIII, 10].

And He said:

Whoever obeys the Apostle has obeyed Allaah [Q. IV, 82]. So Allaah instructed
[men] that their homage to the Apostle is homage to Him, and their obedience [to
him] is obedience to Him.

And He said:

But no! by thy Lord, they will not become believers until they make thee judge in
their disputes and do not afterwards find difficulty in Thy decisions, but
surrender in full submission [Q. IV, 68].

This verse, we have been told, was revealed in connection with a land dispute
between al-Zubayr and another man in which the Prophet gave a decision in
favor of al-Zubayr. This decision is a Sunnah laid down by the Apostle, not a
command in the text of the Qur'aan.

[Translator's Note: Yahya b. Adam, in Kitab al-Kharaj, reports the case as follows:
"One of the Helpers from among the Banu Umayya had a dispute with al" Zubayr
concerning a creek (sharj) in the harra, and the Prophet said: Irrigate, O Zubayr,
and then leave the water alone. Said the man of the Banu Umayya: Justice, O
Prophet, even though he is the son of your aunts And the face of the Prophet
changed so that the man knew that what he had said had hurt the prophet. Then
the Prophet said: O Zubayr Shut off the water till it reaches the height of two
ankles - or he said: -[till it] reaches the fence - and then let the water flow. It was
revealed [then]-or he said: recited-: No, by thy Lord, they do not believe until they
make thee judge in the tangles . . ." [Q. IV, 68]. Yahya b. Adam, Kitab al-Kharaj,
ed.. A. M. Shakir (Cairo, 1347/1929), pp. 106-107; English translation by A. Ben
Shemesh, entitled Taxation In Islaam (Leiden, 1958), p.. 74. See also Tabari,
Tafsir, Vol. VIII, pp. 519-23.]
The Qur'aan indicates what I have just stated; for if this decision were a
Qur'aanic decision, it should have been prescribed in the text of the Book of
Allaah.

But if men fail to accept a decision based on a clear text of the Book of Allaah,
they undoubtedly cease to be believers, for they are rejecting a decision based on
divine legislation. For Allaah, Blessed and Most High, said:

Do not put the Apostle's calling on you for aid on the same footing amongst you
as your calling on each other. Allaah knows those of you who slip away secretly,
so let those who go against His command beware lest a trial befall them, or a
painful punishment [Q. XXIV, 63].

And He said:

When they are called to Allaah and to His Apostle that he may judge between
them, lo, a party of them avert themselves. But if they are in the right, they will
come to him in submission.

Is there sickness in their hearts, or are they in doubt, or do they fear that Allaah
and His Apostle may act unjustly towards them. Nay, but they are the evildoers.

All that the believers said when they were called to Allaah and His Apostle that
he might judge between them was: 'We hear and obey.' These are the ones who
prosper.

Whoever obeys Allaah and His Apostle, and fears Allaah and shows piety - these
are the ones who attain felicity [Q. XXIV, 47-51].

Through this communication, Allaah instructed men that their recourse to the
Apostle to judge among them is a recourse to Allaah's judgment, for the Apostle
is the judge among them, and when they accept his judgment they do so only
because of an obligation imposed by Allaah.

And He instructed them that the [Prophet's] judgment is His judgment, for his
judgment is imposed by Him and by His established knowledge - rendering him a
man of destiny and assisting him by preserving him from error and [worldly]
success - and by testifying that He guides him and causes him se; to obey His
order.

So Allaah imposed the obligation upon His creatures to obey His Apostle, and He
instructed them that [obedience] to him is obedience to Him. The sum-total of
what He instructed them is the duty to obey Him and His Apostle, and that
obedience to the Apostle is obedience to Him. He [also] instructed them that He
imposed the duty on His Apostle to obey His order, Glorious be His praise.